DIO - At Donnington UK: Live 1983 & 1987

Dio live at Donnington, remastered from the original BBC recordings. I knew this was gonna be good.
Disc one is from 1983 and was the unveiling of his brand new band. It featured his old pal from Black Sabbath, Vinnie Appice on the drums, Rainbow buddy Jimmy Bain on the bass and Claude Schnell on the keyboards. It also featured a 21 year old Vivian Campbell on the guitar.
The show opens with "Stand up and Shout" and "Straight Through the Heart" from the debut album. Right from the start, the crowd was with them. No small feat considering this was a Donnington crowd. They're aren't easily impressed, especially when they're watching a new band playing new songs. Dio was smart enough to know this and included a healthy dose of Rainbow and Sabbath songs in the set in case the new songs didn't go over. He didn't have to worry. The crowd response was awesome!
I could do without the drum and guitar solos that start and end "Stargazer", but aside from that, I have no complaints. The sound is great, as is the performance.
Vivian decided to part ways with DIO in 1986 and went on to join Whitesnake in 1987. He played on their hugely successful self-titled album but was fired by leader David Coverdale upon its' completion. He eventually went on to abandon all of his metal roots and join Def Leppard, the biggest corporate sellouts around. haha Wasted talent.
Anyway, disc 2 features the same band as the '83 show minus Campbell. His replacement was Craig Goldy. He was previously a member of Rough Cutt and Guiffria.
They were touring behind the "Dream Evil" album at the time and included 3 songs from it. The opener "Dream Evil", a really cool version of "Naked in the Rain" and "All the Fools Sailed Away". I was a little surprised they didn't play "I Could Have Been a Dreamer" but it might have been a little too poppy for this crowd.
Also nice to hear "Rock and Roll Children" and the Sabbath tune "Neon Knights".
I was kind of surprised that I actually like the '87 show a little better. I really didn't listen to DIO much after the first 2 or 3 albums but Craig Goldy is a heck of a guitarist. Very impressive!
Anyway, this is a fine tribute to one of the greatest singers in the metal world.
I was fortunate to see him once on his own in the late 90's and also as a member of Heaven and Hell in the summer of 2007. His voice was incredible both times.
When he passed away earlier this year, he left a void in the metal world that will probably never be filled. Thankfully, we have recordings such as these to keep his memory and his music alive.
Long live rock and roll! \m/

The Rolling Stones - Ladies & Gentlemen (dvd)

Ok, I know I've been on a Stones kick lately but I just HAVE to write about this one since it FINALLY got its official release today.
This film chronicles the Stones 1972 "Exile on Main Street" Tour which many people, myself included, think was the peak of the bands touring career.
After the horrors of Altamont at the end of the 60's, the Stones regrouped in Paris and came up with the masterpiece which is "Exile on Main Street". Logically, a tour followed. This was the first time the Stones had toured America since Altamont and they were definitely back with a vengeance.
This was the early 70's. Large P.A. systems were just starting to be used and arenas and stadium tours were still relatively new. This was the Stones before the backup singers and before the blow up props and gigantic stage sets.
The band was basically stripped to its core. Mick, Keith, Charlie, Bill and Mick Taylor, along with Nicky Hopkins on piano and the horn section of Jim Price and Bobby Keys. That's all. That's all they needed.
The movie is actually a compilation of 4 shows in Texas in 1972. The movie itself was actually released in theaters in 1974 but that was the end of it.
Aside from bootleg copies that have been floating around (I have mine), this is the first time this has been seen in years.
Eagle vision did a fantastic job of restoring the audio and video.
Anyway, let's get to the actual show. What can I say really? It's all here, Brown Sugar, Gimme Shelter, Tumbling Dice etc. etc. The band tears through 15 songs like a well-oiled machine.
Highlights for me are: "Dead Flowers" with Keith and Mick sharing the mic, something that probably hasn't happened since then. "Love in Vain" with Mick Taylor playing some amazing slide. "Midnight Rambler" with Mick blowing some awesome harp. And smoking versions of "Rip This Joint" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
Another highlight is when Keith solos. He doesn't do it much anymore so you sometimes forget how good of a guitar player he really is. This will refresh your memory.
The addition of some nice bonus footage really makes this dvd shine.
First up, we get some rehearsal footage filmed in Switzerland. "Shake Your Hips", "Tumbling Dice" and an unreleased song called "Bluesberry Jam". Really cool although it makes you wish it was longer than the 11 or so minutes we get here.
There are also two interviews with Mick Jagger tacked on at the end. The first is from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" show from 1972, right before the release of "Exile". The second is from 2010.
That's about it. Picked it up at Gallery for $10. Can't beat it.

Popa Chubby - River Street Jazz Cafe 9-10-10

Popa Chubby, back at the Jazz Cafe. This is probably my 15th or so time seeing him. If he came to town more often, the number would be higher.
For the uninitiated, Popa's music is a nice mix of Freddie King and Stevie Ray with lots of ball-busting attitude thrown in for good measure. He is a master of the guitar and his songs often stretch out to 15 minute jams full of tons of licks from his bottomless bag of tricks.
He played two sets tonight, the first of which was full of the old classics, "Stress Will Kill You Every Time", "Sweet Goddess of Love & Beer" and "Same Old Blues" to name a few.
Near the end of the first set, things got a little weird. Poppa decided to read a passage from his forthcoming book "Road Rot - Tales from the Road".
Now as much as I appreciate his humor and enjoy reading his stories on the website, a 20 minute story in a seedy jazz club, smack dab in the middle of a blistering set, seemed ill-timed. Many people took this as an opportunity to grab a smoke and some left and didn't bother coming back.
A short story in the middle of a night of drunken blues was not really working with this crowd.
Anyway, after that little detour, the music continued with a smokin' version of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". Never heard Popa do this one before but would love to hear it again because it rocked.
After a short break, Popa and the band were back. They opened with a 9 minute instrumental that transformed into Otis Redding's "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay". After that we were treated to a 20 minute instrumental jam that was reminiscent of the Allman Brothers with it's peaks and valleys.
The set closer was "Sweat" from his 1995 release Booty and the Beast. I think Popa has probably played this song every time I've seen him and it never gets old. Great tune.
The only small disappointment of the night was the omission of "Somebody Let the Devil Out". Being that the song was inspired by the bombing of the Twin Towers and it was now 9/11, I thought for sure he would dust that one off.
In any case, it was another night of smokin' guitar from Popa and a great night out with the boys.
Let's hope Popa continues to make his way back to Wilkes-Barre, or Wil-kes Berry or Wilkes-Berry. I don't care how he says it, as long as he never forgets us.

Neil Young with Pearl Jam - Listen to this Eddie!

This is a show that has been in my collection for years and I decided to break it out the other day and give it another listen. The show is from June 24, 1995 in San Francisco, California.
The majority of the recording is made from an outstanding audience tape while a small portion of the Vedder / Pearl Jam set comes from another audience source that, while isn't quite as good as the Neil part, is also pretty darn good.
The show starts out with the Neil part first even though chronologically , it was last.
The Pearl Jam set starts out with Vedder on board and sounding pretty much like he normally does. The problem was, he was actually sick as a dog. After just seven songs, he announces his dilemma to the crowd, apologizes, and exits. Luckily, Neil Young was also on the bill this day and being good friends with Pearl Jam, offers to fill in for the ailing Vedder.
While most of the audience didn't seem to mind the thought of seeing a legend fronting their favorite band, there were of course a few people who weren't very happy about the situation and there are people actually booing at times. This obviouly doesn't bother Young, in fact, he seemed to thrive on the adversity.
He leads the band through a blistering set of songs, including 7 selections from the Neil / Pearl Jam collaboration 'Mirror Ball', the only time they would be performed during the tour.
In addition to the 'Mirror Ball' songs, Neil performs many of his own classics including Powderfinger, Needle and the Damage Done, and of course Rockin' in the Free World. There's also killer versions of Down By the River and Cortez the killer. Neil was obviously inspired to be jamming with these young rockers that he so obviously influenced.
This cd is very enjoyable and I would recommend it to both Pearl Jam and Neil fans alike.
It was definitely a rare occasion and thankfully, someone was there to capture it on tape.
I believe I picked this up in NYC a few years back but I saw it recently on the blog http://musictravellerstwo.blogspot.com
Good stuff. Enjoy.

Wolfmother - The Wiltern, Los Angeles California

First off, this show was recorded for Westwood One Radio so the sound quality is spectacular. I would say a solid 10.
It was recorded at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on November 24, 2009 and the setlist is as follows:
1 - Dimension
2 - Cosmic Egg
3 - Woman
4 - White Unicorn
5 - 10,000 Feet
6 - Slash Intro
7 - By The Sword (featuring Slash)
8 - Vagabond
9 - Joker & The Thief
As just a casual fan of the band, I have to say this is a really good show. I recognized 90% of the set which is kind of surprising since I only have one of their albums.
Anyway, the show rocks from start to finish and even features a guest appearance by Slash of Guns 'n' Roses / Velvet Revolver fame.
My only complaint about this cd is the length. Clocking in at just over 45 minutes, it's too damn short. I could listen to this kind of stuff all night.
In spite of the length, I would definitely recommend it.
I believe I picked this one up over at HearRockCity. Check out his site, he has some killer stuff.

Back again

This is a continuation of a blog I started about 3 years ago. The idea was (and is) to review and write about the music in my collection. It will include official releases as well as bootlegged material.
I will also be throwing in the occasional concert review and maybe even a movie review or two. Whatever happens to be on my mind I guess (mainly music though).
I have a fairly large collection of music and my goal is simply to share my thoughts with the hope of turning someone on to something that they never heard before or maybe just jogging their memory and inspiring them to spin an old classic they forgot about.
I am not here to argue about what is good or bad. Music is a subjective thing and there really is no good or bad. If you agree with my opinions, great, if not, then maybe you can start your own blog and review things the way you like. I do not plan on engaging in a war of words with anyone. That's not why I'm doing this.
That being said, I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to drop me a line in the comments section.